


Day 4 - Soundwave

by GemmaRose



Series: Lost Light Fest 2020 [4]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Cassetticon Hot Rod, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26815549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: A traitor and defector he may be, but Hot Rod is stillhis
Relationships: Cassettes & Soundwave (Transformers), mentioned Frenzy/Hot Rod/Rumble
Series: Lost Light Fest 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947964
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Day 4 - Soundwave

Soundwave fell into step easily, smirking behind his mask as he followed Megatron through the halls, thoroughly tuning out Shockwave explaining to his Lord what, exactly, the new frame was capable of. He’d heard it all before, more than once. He would much rather devote his processor to considering just how badly Starscream would be punished for allowing the faction to decline so sharply. The last time Megatron had been out of commission for an extended period had been a stumbling block to be sure, but his Lord had merely been trapped in altmode at the time and still fully capable of _shooting_ Starscream when he tried something foolish. Well, now he had a railgun to test out, and Soundwave was rather hoping to see it take off one of the Air Commander’s limbs. It had enough power, but consistent aiming had been an issue. None of them here had the build to withstand its recoil, save Lord Megatron.

A flare of surprise drew his attention back to the present just nanokliks before Megatron came to a halt, staring down at a minibot painted in unmistakable firey colours, vivid red and warm orange and shimmering golden flames. A minibot who wore the Matrix around his neck on a chain. “Oh frag!” Hot Rod yelped, and Soundwave moved instinctively as Megatron grabbed for him. He wasn’t fast enough though, Megatron snatching up Hot Rod in his left hand and pitching him at the far wall. Soundwave felt the impact in his own spark, felt Hot Rod’s desperate, unspoken plea, and then-

He must have glitched, because one moment he was standing and the next he was on his knees, one hand splayed on the floor and the other clawing at his dock cover in a blind attempt to ease the pain in his spark.

“Oh, right.” Megatron drawled, his pedes ringing loud on the floor as he turned to face Soundwave, to look down at him as if he hadn’t just _murdered_ one of the cassettes bonded to him. “That Autobot was yours, before he defected.”

Soundwave nodded, not trusting himself to speak, barely trusting himself to look up. Hot Rod had left the Decepticons, had left _him_ , but his protocols didn’t care about that. Protocols only cared that his cassette had died, scared and begging for safety, at the hands of the mech now looking down at him.

“He was a traitor.” Megatron said, and Soundwave forced himself to nod. “Clean up the mess, I need to go _deal with_ Starscream.”

“Soundwave: will do as Lord Megatron commands.” he forced out, bowing his helm towards the floor again. He didn’t manage to rise until Megatron and Shockwave’s pedesteps had faded from his audials, and when he looked at the spot where Hot Rod had been shot he nearly fell to his knees again. The contents of his youngest cassette’s subspace were scattered across the floor: the remnants of a medical kit, a handful of munitions, half an ironfleece blanket which resonated so strongly with an echo of Hot Rod’s EM signature that it made Soundwave’s optics burn behind his visor. He gathered all of it up in his hands, and as he was straightening up his spark wrenched anew in his chest. There, half hidden beneath a fallen wall panel, was Hot Rod’s most prized possession.

He picked up the crystal disc carefully, cradling it to his chest as he muted his vocaliser to suppress a mournful keen. He had never met Hot Rod’s first carrier, had never liked the mech from the stories Hot Rod told of him, but Jumpstart had given Hot Rod this medal which was so precious to him, the last remnant of his long-immolated home city.

His vents rattled as he cycled air through them, and he realized his whole frame was trembling. Not only that, but the grief suffusing his spark was not wholly his own. He straightened with a jerk, turning on his heel to march back to the quarters he shared with the cassettes who had remained loyal to him this whole time. Rumble and Frenzy, unsurprisingly, were curled together on the berth, Ravage wrapped around their upper halves and purring deeply. The bonded pair scrambled upright when he entered, and Frenzy let out a sound of distress so raw Soundwave physically hurt to hear it.

“Hot Rod: apprehended attempting to steal Matrix.” he said, laying the half blanket and crystal disc on the berth. “Megatron: took...” he choked on the words Appropriate Action, and Ravage rose to come rub up against him with a deep rumble of his little engine. He was loyal to the Cause, a cause which Hot Rod had abandoned millions of years ago. Hot Rod had been a traitor to the Decepticons, had become an Autobot, had been literally in the processes of _stealing_ from them- but he had still been Soundwave’s. Had never overwritten their bond by joining Blaster’s team. He had been Soundwave’s and Megatron had _killed him_.

Soundwave sat down heavily on the berth, and Rumble and Frenzy climbed into his lap, dragging the partial blanket with and clutching the medal between them, the last remnants of their lost third sparkmate. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw took their perches on his shoulders, Buzzsaw rubbing the side of his helm against Soundwave’s mask, and as Ravage leaned against his side Soundwave bent forward, wrapped his arms around Rumble and Frenzy, and allowed himself to grieve.

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies to any not-logged-in readers, but due to an ex who refuses to leave me alone I have had to disable anon comments. Kudos are still open though, and if you want to scream (or would like me to write a fic for you) come check me out on Pillowfort! No account required to get my discord, and I'm always happy to chat. [[Link](https://www.pillowfort.social/GemmaRose)]


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